Too Much Drama

Hello, Wavers! How's everybody doing in the vast in-between of Christmas and New Years? It's like some kind of twilight. Speaking of which, the mini-W and I saw 30 DAYS OF NIGHT last evening and loved it. Wow, what great production values and really great, inventive set pieces. A little gory but it was quite compelling.

So as I prepare to launch my new website by this weekend (yeah, that deadline looks to be pushed, ain't that just like life?) I am going through the hundreds of sets of notes we have done over time looking for suitable samples of our work. And I have found the most interesting trend - too many dramas! I'm finding that newer writers tend to write dramas. Because, you know, I do keep track of where each writer is at on the curve so that when we work with that writer, we have that jumping off point. New writer = likelihood of having written drama QUITE HIGH. Which is interesting because further, I have also observed that these dramas get consistently low ratings on the grid and the notes tend to be that its "too self-referential." In other words, not universal, but rather too personally specific - missing a larger, relatable theme.

Drama as a genre coming from a spec writer trying to break in, is common and - not very marketable. Genre pieces tend to trend better on the market. I like dramas very much, personally, but in Hwood we tend to see them mainly written by heavy hitters and released in the winter. I know the first two scripts I wrote were both dramas before I discovered and set upon writing romcom which I did for several scripts before I discovered that my strength is in writing thrillers. It took me awhile to find my voice, my strength and my passion in terms of genre.

If you are writing a drama, you might check in and ask yourself if you are aware that as a genre, it is a weak sell. Also, is your drama self-referential - about that time your boyfriend broke your heart? Is this a mildly biographical drama, in other words? If so - beware. I'm just saying. Make sure you have the emotional distance and skillset to make the story universally resonant, not just a therapeutic way of working out your demons. Which can be fine - we're all working out our demons - but don't lose sight of audience appreciation. Is this story something MANY people can relate to? Or is this something that only YOU find satisfying? If so - how can you elevate the drama, conflict and theme to something more - well, again - universal?

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